First Light
by BlueberryNails
Summary: 699 expanded. They may have won the war, but it wasn't over just yet. There were still losses to grieve over, bonds to rebuild, and memories to forget.
1. Reconciliation

**Disclaimer: Naruto ain't mine, but Kishi's, who is a freaking genius for this amazing story.**

**This is going to be a story about what happens throughout Chapter 699. We only got a monologue of Sasuke (which I honestly liked because we never really have a clear view of what is in his head most of the time) and a few frames so I've decided I would make my own story based on it. Since we don't really know what happens to people like Yamato and Kabuto even in the epilogue, I feel like creating this story would tie up the loose ends.**

**This will contain pretty much all types of ships since I'm going to write this how I see it as canon, and not how I see my fave pairings. This will be just a short story, most likely around ten chapters and will feature nearly all important characters in the Narutoverse.**

**Okay, this A/N is getting lengthy. Hope you guys enjoy :D**

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><p>Together, they lied on the destroyed remains of the Valley of the End.<p>

It was fitting, to annihilate the place that signified the feud between them, symbolizing the end of it all.

And uncomfortable. Like _really _uncomfortable. A sharp rock was digging into Naruto's left shoulder, but he couldn't reach it because _he had nothing to reach it with_. He could have scooted over, but his whole body was hurting tremendously, aching from the exhausting events that took place in the last few days.

Meeting his mother was a lot to take in, as well as rectifying the relationships of the Bijuu and finally meeting the Kyuubi halfway, getting to know his real name in the process. Then Madara and Obito were another thing. The Uchihas really were awesome, nothing short of the praise their clan received throughout the generations. They were powerful and driven, although easily misguided by the emotions they had. They were geniuses, but were wasted by reality's cold indifference. The Juubi's power was incredible, even when it was still incomplete. He got to meet his father and the rest of the legendary hokages, whose faces loomed over Konoha on the great mountain behind the Hokages office. He got to meet the Sage of Six Paths, the Shinobi God, and was handed a power so great that his life and strength was renewed. But despite the new powers, Infinite Tsukiyomi was launched.

And when he thought it would be the final clash, Zetsu betrayed Madara and revealed the truth that he was actually behind it all—Naruto was practically so done by all this he nearly threw his hands up in the air and yelled out how finished he was—and Kaguya was unsealed. She was a tough opponent and was on a whole new level, because it wasn't everyday you have to hop through dimensions. And when they finally, _finally_ defeated her, Sasuke had announced his true plan.

And now here they were, one armed and powerless. But they were friends again. And Naruto would rather this painful rocky bed of broken land than his soft one back in Konoha if it meant having Sasuke back on his side.

A movement in the corner of his eye caught Naruto's attention. It moved swiftly down the rocks to leap to the spot before them. It was Sakura, her green eyes wide with shock as they stared at the matted blood that came from their hands. Her face ashened, her breath faltering as the loss of their limbs sunk into her head.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto says in acknowledgement of the girl. Her eyes never strayed from the space between him and Sasuke. Her eyebrows furrowed together, expression anguished as she fell to her knees before both of their feet and placed a hand on each of their stumps. A soft green light started emitting from them, and instantly Naruto felt better. He could feel her chakra mending the torn skin, feel the pain dissipate little by little.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled at her, uncaring of the pain his action caused on the muscles of his face. She didn't say anything in reply, merely continuing with her work.

"Sakura," Says Sasuke, his right dark eye only on her. "I—"

"Just shut up for now," Sakura instantly shot him down, her tone frustrated. "I'm concentrating."

Naruto's gaze lingered on Sakura's face, still unbothered by his attempts to talk to her before it moves on to Sasuke. His face was hard, eyebrows furrowed slightly at her. He was having a hard time, Naruto realized, apologizing to Sakura. He had ruthlessly thrown her into a genjutsu, and whatever it was Naruto knew that it was bad. Probably one that will haunt her nights.

Sasuke's tongue darted to lick his bloody chapped lips before he opens his mouth. "I'm sorry," His voice was rough and weak, but his words were genuine. His attention was only on her, studying her carefully under his watchful gaze. Sakura wavers a little, because while she is a strong girl Sasuke would always be her weakness. He would always make her vulnerable, susceptible to the pain she was trying so hard to ignore. Her eyes don't meet his, still stubborn on setting her gaze on the arm, where the skin was halfway renewed.

"Sorry?" Her voice quivered on the last note, and she cursed herself for it. "For what?" But she didn't need to ask. She knew _exactly _what he was talking about and she was feeling so close to tears.

When Sasuke's reply did not come as she had expected, her eyes carelessly move to him, as it always did even as a young girl. Her insides knotted at the intense look in his obsidian eye, unnerved by the sincerity directed to her. Sakura feels her green eyes burn with tears and she looks back to her hands, but it was too late. One tear rolled down her cheek before she could tear her gaze away.

"You'd better damn well be," She says scathingly, but the tears wouldn't stop. They fell ceaselessly one after another, blurring her vision to the point that alarms went off in her head that she shouldn't be healing them without any concentration. Sakura was determined to stop the tears, to stop letting her emotions get the best of her and concentrate on healing their arms. But she can never really push down her emotions when it comes to Sasuke. He will always cloud her judgment, her perception, and that was what made him very dangerous. He had that power over her because she loved him.

Naruto grinned, watching Sakura's façade crumble away. He felt melancholy fill his heart, watching her so sad over a few words murmured by their former—no, their teammate. He could see how much Sakura loved Sasuke, and honestly, it hurt. He loves Sakura. He always had. She was beautiful, intelligent and a nice person, despite her flaws. She had bright green eyes that lit up with passion every time she did something, be it causing a mini-earthquake or smacking the back of his head. Her smile made his heart speed up to rates that Kurama had told him to be dangerous even. He loved her to the point that he was willing to let go of her, if he was sure Sasuke wasn't going to hurt her anymore than he had.

"Shaaanaroo…" Sakura says, her angry tone wavering. "You jerk."

Sasuke's eye never left her face. He watched her break down into tears, seeing how much his apology meant to her. He didn't know that she would react this much, but then again this girl always became awfully emotional and weak when it came to him, something that used to irk him. He was just some orphan with a dark past and a pair of mismatched eyes. He did not see what it was about him that deserved him of such reaction.

Nevertheless, Sakura sniffled and wiped her tears with the back of her hand and resumed on cleaning what's left of their wound.

Kakashi would never have thought this was what would happen to Team 7.

He recalls the first time they met. When they were nothing but annoying genin brats who he was most likely going to fail in the first meeting because of the eraser that fell onto his hair. It was funny how things turned out so different. They had all grown up, his own team, and an immense feeling of pride bloomed in his chest as Sakura restarted the healing. Soon after, their stumps weren't gaping open from the loss of most of their arm. The two young men sat up gingerly with Sakura wiping her eyes again with her hand. Then he hears Naruto's loud laugh, brashly echoing across the remains of the Valley. Kakashi smiles brightly behind his mask, pulling his headband over his eye out of habit.

"Finally, they're back."

* * *

><p>"Yosh!" Naruto yelled, a bright grin on his face as he wobbled up to his feet. "We better release the world from the genjutsu now."<p>

Sasuke soon followed, brushing off the dust on his tattered clothes with his good hand. Sakura got up as well and cleaned the dust off her knees. "Wait, I'm going to get Kaka-sensei first." She sped off, jumping up the terrain and reached Kakashi. The man greeted her quite cheerfully. "Ah, Sakura-chan. I see you haven't completely forgotten about me." His headband was pulled over his eye, the other one squinting as it does when he would greet her.

"Sorry," Sakura apologized sheepishly. She noted the headband over his eye, and she gave him a funny look.

"What?" Kakashi asked when he saw the look.

"Your headband is down."

"Very perceptive of you."

"You do realize you don't have the sharingan anymore right? It's sharin_gone_."

A wry look was given to Sakura as her sensei replied, "It looks cooler," With a small smile on Sakura's lips, she draped his arm over her shoulder and secured her hold on his vest. They jumped off together, moving to where Naruto and Sasuke were in a few short seconds.

The two young men took their positions. Facing the remnants of the waterfall that was now only a small stream of water, their hands met and formed the rat hand seal, Naruto holding up his middle and index finger with Sasuke grasping them.

"Kai!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke felt a rush of chakra running towards their hands, its effect leaving them quite dizzy and exhausted from the sudden loss. They felt something shift in them, as though something was pulling, but it stops as quickly as it had come. With that, the Infinite Tsukiyomi was dispelled.

"Sasuke," Naruto says, giving him a hard look after pulling away from him. "Are you going to let the Bijuus go?"

Sasuke turned to him, he face settled back to its cold expression. Naruto didn't want to fight Sasuke again, and neither of them could muster the strength to, but if Sasuke was still going to kill the Bijuus with his power, then maybe things won't work out after all. Sasuke was still debating whether or not he should let them go of his control. To set them free could hold a potential threat in the future. It may as well very be the catalyst for history to go full circle and repeat its bloody course. If he lets them roam free, it may cause trouble and ultimately be the downfall of the shinobi world, and there won't be a Naruto to save it this time.

But as Sasuke let his gaze move from Naruto's hard expression to Sakura's hopeful one, then to Kakashi's inscrutable look, he felt his resolve crumble in the slightest. To kill the Bijuus would also pit him against his former team once again. Naruto, despite his words about never going against him, Sasuke was sure that he would never be able to forgive him. It was selfish of him, incredibly selfish, because it was his happiness over peace. Was it worth it?

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's small voice piped up. The pink haired kunoichi stepped forward, her face sick with worry. "Please," She pleaded. "Please." She didn't need to finish her words for Sasuke to understand what she was asking. Sasuke's dark eye settled onto her, watching her green eyes water with emotion once again. Always. He always made her cry.

His eye moved to Kakashi next, still unreadable to him. With a monotone voice, the man spoke up, "You know what will happen if you don't let them go."

He knows. He knows he'll lose Team 7.

He'll lose his _family_.

A sick feeling in his gut blossomed, the same one that he felt when he saw his parents lying lifeless on the floor. When he saw Itachi smile before his eyes glazed over. When he watched Edo-Itachi reach out to him to poke, only to let their foreheads meet.

_But I love you!_

_I just…hurt_.

Without warning, Sasuke jumped away. Concentrating chakra underneath the soles of his feet, he ran up the cliff of the waterfall. His body throbbed in protest, abusing his beaten muscles at his quick movement, but he ignores it, and gets to the top.

He opens his left eye.

Concentrating his chakra to his Sharinnegan, Sasuke summoned the Bijuus he trapped towards them. They circled momentarily above his head, all nine of them, before Sasuke dropped them a safe distance away from him.

Naruto quickly landed firmly behind him followed by Sakura and Kakashi. Team 7 watched the rocks before them move and rumble with movement. Suddenly, an orange claw grasped onto the rock. A large kitsune beast pulled itself out of the rocks, its red slitted eyes fixed on them as he bared its sharp fangs.

The other beasts soon rose up from the dirt. First the Gobi, then the Hachibi until all the beasts were out. They all glanced at each other in confusion, still in the haze of being under Sasuke's control.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled, waving wildly at his beast. "We saved the world! We saved the world, dattebayo!" The kitsune rolled his eyes at the boy, but the Kyuubi felt pride swell in his chest for the loud brat.

"Naruto," He growled good-naturedly. "I knew you could do it, even if you're a punk."

"Ah, that's right! I'm—OI! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PUNK, DATTEBAYO!?"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she smacked the back of the blonde's head, her face twisted into an ugly scowl. "Your voice is giving me a headache!"

"Ite!" Naruto cried out, his hands clutching the back of his head. "Sakura-chan, please don't beat me up! I'm sorry!" He remembered how strong she was not holding back when she obtained the Byakugou. If he pissed off his friend again then he was in big trouble!

Sakura's face softened, at the same time wanting to roll her eyes at the blonde. While her violence towards him was a form of endearment, he still better fear her wrath! She had a temper, and she wasn't afraid of showing everyone just how pissed off she is using her strength.

The Tailed Beasts, excluding Kurama, were still confused, asking one another what happened. They didn't have a single clue that Sasuke had placed them under his control and what of his plans for them. Naruto stepped up to them and explained what had happened. The beasts looked upset, giving Sasuke poisonous looks while he unperturbed.

"Mah, mah," Naruto placates, sweatdropping at the angry scowls on the faces of the beasts. "Don't worry, as you can see, I knocked some sense into him. He won't ever do that again." Naruto gave Sasuke a meaningful look. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"So we're free?" Asked Saiken, the Rokubi, tone unsure. Naruto grinned wildly, nodding. "You sure are! You're free to go wherever you want, dattebayo!"

"As long as you don't cause any more trouble," Added Sasuke.

Son Goku let out an angry sound. "It's you foolish humans who are causing trouble!" The Yonbi spat angrily. "We Bijuus only want to live in harmony. You pesky humans are the ones who cause _us _trouble."

"And I promise you that we won't anymore." Sasuke answered, tone leveled with his stoic expression. "At least for this generation. We, like you, only want to live in peace."

The Bijuus were silent, mulling over Sasuke's words. They regarded the Uchiha's promise, but only felt doubt, because how could they trust him, he who had planned to dispose of them? He who nearly plunged the world into chaos?

Sasuke saw the mistrust in their eyes, so he directed his gaze to Naruto. "If you don't believe me, then believe this dobe."

Naruto nodded, unfazed by the dobe part. "We _will _try to maintain peace for as long as we live. We've seen so much in the last three days this war has gone on, and even for a shinobi I think everyone would agree that it was enough for a lifetime. You can all go your separate ways, live where you want to. You can always meet inside my conscience, like the Sage said."

The troubled expressions on their faces lifted. They all glanced at one another, giving nods.

"Okay," Said Chomei. "We believe you."

One by one, the beasts left. First it was Isobu, then Kokuo until nearly everyone left. Their steps made the ground shake that it made Naruto fall to his butt and Kakashi, still leaning on Sakura for support, nearly crushed her with his weight. There was melancholy in Naruto. He felt sad, seeing the beasts separate and go their own ways, but Naruto told himself that this wasn't going to be the last time he'd see them all together. He was their meeting place after all.

Only Gyuki and Kurama were left, still sitting on the pile of rubble they came out from.

"Ah!" Naruto said in surprise. "How do we get you in me again, Kurama?"

"You guys have to reseal me again." Said Kurama. "You can open the seal on your stomach and then I will be sucked back in, since my Yin self is in there. There, I will be whole again." The Kyuubi gave Naruto a warning look. "Having all my chakra inside you can be dangerous. Since it's more potent than what you're used to, my chakra will overcome you every now and then for the next few days before you get it under control. Are you alright with that?"

"Don't worry," Naruto grinned. "I trust that you won't do anything to hurt me."

Kurama's slitted eyes softened, touched by Naruto's words. The blonde pulled up his mesh shirt to show off his toned stomach. The seal appeared, spiraling towards his belly button. Naruto lit his fingers with chakra and opened it halfway. His blue eyes met Kurama's before he gave it another twist, opening it fully.

A white flash seared into everyone's eyes. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi shielded themselves with their arms, Gyuki with one of his tails. Naruto's eyes closed reflexively as he felt something warm up in his stomach. It was a gentle kind of warm, like the bottom of a bowl of ramen on a cold day. Then it starts getting more uncomfortable, like his first dip in the onsen. A grunt of pain escapes him and Naruto fell to his knees, gasping at the foreign feeling of the huge mass of chakra being transferred to him without anyone to keep it in a steady pace. If it was someone transferring it to him, then it would have been much bearable since the speed and quantity his body was taking in could be measured. But without anyone to aid them, the flow was too sudden and forceful, and Naruto nearly screamed for it to stop.

Naruto exhaled sharply when it stopped. He instantly closed the seal, feeling the warmth now all over his body. It was a familiar sensation, the one he got whenever he was mad and started to lose control. Naruto hunched over, growling unconsciously.

Sakura immediately rushed to Naruto's side. She knelt before him, tilting his chin up with a finger. She could feel his chakra spiking through the roof in dangerous intervals. He was fighting Kurama's chakra to placate it, but it looked like a battle in vain. Naruto was obviously losing his control; his whiskers were darker and he had red chakra surrounding his body.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, trying to get Naruto's attention. "Breathe. Breathe! You _have _to relax. You're riled up by the pain and your grip is loosening. Breathe, damn it!"

"Sakura, get away!" Kakashi yelled, stumbling forward in an attempt to pull her away, but Sasuke had already beaten him to it. The lone Uchiha grabbed the girl by the forearms and pulled her back up. "You'll get hurt," Sasuke breathed into her ear. Sakura's heart raced at the feel of his warmth and his tantalizing hot breath on her neck, but she snapped out of it. It was not the time to let her hormones get in control!

"Naruto," Kurama said within the depths of Naruto's mind.. "Calm down. At this rate you're going to start popping out some tails. You're head's too muddled to get in control. _Calm. Down._"

With a tense jaw, Naruto inhaled and exhaled in a calm pace. It took a while, but soon the red chakra dissipated. His whiskers were still dark, and when Naruto opened his eyes they were slitted.

"Good." Says Kurama. "Until you get used to my whole form, your eyes are going to be slitted for a while. Your whiskers will stay dark as well. I'm not sure how else will this sudden change affect you, but you have to take it slow."

"And if I don't?" Naruto asked.

"Then you will lose your mind again and I might not be able to stop you."

Naruto gulped and nodded. He shifted to his feet, wobbling a little bit as he summoned the strength to his legs. Someone assisted him up and placed his arm over their shoulder. It was Kakashi.

"Are you able to stand?" Asked Kakashi since Naruto's weight was barely keeping him up. The blonde struggled, but was soon able to without toppling over. "Mmm. I'm fine. I can handle it now."

"Come on," Gyuki said. "You can ride on my head. We'll go back to where everyone else is."

And even though Naruto felt his strength not fully returning to him, he couldn't help but glance up to where Sasuke and Sakura were. "First one to Gyuki wins!"

Naruto bolted off, but Sasuke didn't humor Naruto's childish games. He glanced at Kakashi, who clearly looked pale and weak. Sakura moved away from Sasuke—he hadn't noticed that his grip was still on her slender arms until she pulled away—and moved next to Kakashi. Just as she lifted his arm to put it over her shoulder, however, her face crumpled with pain and she gasped, holding on to Kakashi's shoulder tightly instead as she tried to steadied herself.

There was a pain in her chest. It came as quickly as it went. From what Sakura could remember through the haze of pain she still felt throb in her cavity, she never had pains like these before. And it wasn't the normal kind of chest pain either. It felt like her chest was crushed, like something blunt struck her chest bone and succeeded in pushing all the way into her. It was like—

It was not unlike when Sasuke placed her under the genjutsu, impaling her with his arm.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Sasuke heard Kakashi whisper alarmingly into Sakura's ear as her eyebrows furrowed with weariness. Sasuke wondered how long Sakura had been holding Kakashi up. Five? Ten minutes? And that didn't even count the time it took for them to get to the Valley of the End. Sasuke did not belittle Sakura's strength. He knew that the girl was powerful, despite the dainty hair color and nimble frame. But they were all exhausted. Thanks to his sharp eyes, he could see that she was trembling under Kakashi's weight. And after going through one of the most powerful genjutsus ever—

Sasuke pushed the thought to the back of his head, just as he does with everything that makes him feel uncomfortable, and instead busied himself by quickly moving to where Sakura and Kakashi were before Naruto could react. He wouldn't think about it; it was not the time.

A quiet gasp escaped Sakura when he steps in front of them without a warning. Wide eyed, her gaze snapped up to meet his in surprise before they relax, knowing that it was only him.

"Sasuke-kun, why…?" She didn't get to finish her question before Sasuke took his place on Kakashi's right. He grabbed his former sensei's wrist and slung his unoccupied arm over his neck. His left stump rested just above Sakura's on Kakashi's back to support him, his good hand still encircled around his wrist to keep him in place.

"It's fine, I can carry him." Sakura insists, but up close, Sasuke could see the way her whole body trembled, her jaw set and face scrunched up with pain, just slightly.

Kakashi's lone eye darted to Sasuke, who boldly met his gaze. It was the first time Sasuke had seen the man who was one of Konoha's finest look weary and pathetic this close. Sasuke had begrudgingly looked up to his sensei in his younger years, for he did everything with a careless grace whenever he would assist them in their missions. His motions were always fluid, never choppy or half-assed. He was always cool and composed, never having a single hair out of place on his ironically messy white hair. He was Kakashi-sensei, an indomitable man

But this man, this man who he was supporting because he was just so tired was a mile away from the picture of the man who looked over him with a cool, unwavering lone eye was Kakashi. Just Kakashi. In that quick moment of fixed gazes, Sasuke, for the first time, saw the shadows of Kakashi's tainted past in the depths of his pained eyes.

"Sorry for being such a burden," The man's eye squinted, achingly familiar.

"Hn," Was Sasuke's reply, and with a sharp nod towards Sakura, they bolted off.

Naruto was sitting on top of the Hachibi's head when they arrived, comfortably settled in the middle. Sasuke sat next to Naruto's left, while Sakura and Kakashi on his right. Naruto nudged Sasuke's stump with his own, a mischievous grin on his face.

"I won."

"Shut up, dobe."

* * *

><p>Tsunade staggered across the broken battlefield, feeling weaker than she has ever felt in a long time. The tree had sucked out a significant amount of her chakra, though she still has her Byakugou. How long had it been since the flower bloomed? It was morning now, and while she couldn't recall anything from the battle in full detail, she knew full well that it was nighttime and she had no chakra left to utilize her medical ninjutsu, leaving everything to Sakura.<p>

At the thought of her pupil, Tsunade scanned the area for a rose-haired girl but was disappointed to find none. She worried for her—she worried for everyone! Her people needed her, and so Tsunade found the strength to tread on her path quickly.

But even if she was determined on helping anyone who needed healing, her mind moved back again to her dream.

It had been the most vivid one she's ever had in her long life and the happiest as well. How she wanted life to turn out that way! To have Dan as the Hokage, grinning that beautiful smile of his that never failed to make her heart race with emotion. To have Nawaki by her side, mischievously sneaking around and laughing loudly. To have the rest of the Sannin, Jiraiya and Orochimaru next to her, both Jiraiya never having to wander the world and Orochimaru never defecting Konoha in the first place. It hurt her. It hurt her when she woke up that it wasn't real at all. Reality crashed into her and _everything was a mess_.

She felt like getting drunk again because she didn't want to cry. She wanted to forget the stupid dream. She wanted to forget the taste of Dan's lips, of Jiraiya and Nawaki's booming laughs, of Orochimaru's loyalty. She wanted to forget the false happiness, for every time she remembered it, she crumbled.

But now she would have to do her duty as a Hokage—a position that was never meant for her in the first place. It was supposed to be for Dan. For Nawaki. For Jiraiya. She had to keep a strong face for her people, even if deep inside she was drowning.

"Medical units!" Shouted Tsunade to the people far from her. "All medical units assemble here!" The people who heard her call relayed it to the others that didn't hear, shouts erupting everywhere to heed her call. Tsunade had to make sure they were alright first before they would go and help other people. It was dangerous if they didn't have the concentration and would result further damage to the patient.

Soon, people filed up. Tsunade was sure that it was not everyone, but it would have to do. She checked their vital signs and mental state to make sure they were alright. Most of them were fine and were good to go, but some people were shaken emotionally, unable to handle the abrupt end to their innermost desires.

She sympathized with them, for even she was barely holding on.

When the emotionally stable medic-nins dispersed after she gave them the order to, Tsunade saw a familiar figure in the distance. He was the only man alive now, out of the four of them who were mainly in her dreams.

"Orochimaru," Her tone hard and unrelenting as he moved closer to her. Her heart throbbed painfully at his presence, at the reminder he brought, but she willed herself to meet his gaze.

Like everyone else, he had that dark look in his eyes.

She wondered what he dreamed of. She immediately thinks of taking over the world with Konoha in its ruins. But the shadows underneath his slitted eyes suggested that it was more emotionally triggering. Then she understands. Like her, he dreamt of someone long dead that meant a lot to him. His parents most likely, were who he dreamed of, and if he cared about him more than she thought, Jiraiya. Tsunade could see the understanding look in his eyes; he knows too of the pain she currently felt.

And suddenly, she felt like rushing up to him and crying onto his shoulder. She blames it on the dream, where he was nice and trust worthy and her _friend_. She wants to find comfort in him, her old teammate, her _only _living teammate. She knows that he'll understand, just like she'll understand his.

But the tears that started to burn her eyes snapped her out of her thoughts. If she were to go to him, then she wouldn't be able to stop herself from crying. He's not the man in her dreams. He's not a friend, but a defector of Konoha. A dangerous man, who she didn't fully trust.

Yes, it was only the remnants of her dream that was clouding her judgment, so she stepped back, a hard mask on her face.

"Tsunade, are you sure that you're in the position to judge if they're good to go?" Asked Orochimaru.

"Of course," Tsunade replied stiffly, turning away from him. "You know of my skill in medical ninjutsu more than most people; I expected you'd know better,"

"Ah, you're misunderstanding me." Orochimaru says, taking a step forward. "I mean, if you yourself is emotionally unstable, do you think you have the right to judge if they are or not? Your feelings are impairing your judgment."

Tsunade regarded his words for a moment before she turned towards him. In a cold voice, she says, "Despite everything you've done to aid the war, you are not pardoned for the stunts you've been pulling these past years, Orochimaru, both against Konoha and against all the nations. You will _never _be forgiven."

With that, she walked away.

* * *

><p>Yamato wouldn't stop trembling.<p>

"Yamato," Sai has been saying his name for the past two minutes since he's found him staring at something unfocusedly. The man looked like he had gone through hell, with heavy shadows underneath his eyes that could almost rival the Kazekage's. It was the first time Sai had seen Yamato since he left with Naruto and the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki.

There was another emotion in the pit of Sai's stomach—lately he's been feeling more and more and he's not sure whether he really liked it, despite studying about it. He could only name the emotion as worry as Yamato still didn't turn to look at him.

_What if he lost his mind? _Sai thought. He hoped that it wouldn't come to that. Yamato was part of Team Kakashi. Both of them were, even though they were just replacements. He didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"Sai!" Someone yelled behind him. Sai turned around and saw the pretty blonde girl who Sakura hung out with. She gracefully ran towards him, her two boy teammates following her lazily. The girl, Ino, smiles brightly at him as she assessed his physical form. "I'm glad you're alright!" Then her gaze darts to Yamato and she frowns.

"What happened to Yamato?" She didn't know him personally, only knowing that he was a wood user and a good friend of Team 7. She didn't like the look in his eyes though. Like he had gone through something traumatizing.

"I don't know." Replied Sai. "I've been trying to get his attention, but he isn't responding."

Ino's eyebrows furrowed, moving next to Sai and kneel down right in front of the man. Up close, his face scared her. _Poor man_, she thought to herself. She checked his vital signs and chakra signature.

"He's physically fine, but I can't say the same emotionally and mentally," She says. "I'd like to delve deeper into his mind right now, but I think more experienced people should handle that, since he's a special case. My father told me that it's very sensible to people like him and procedures should be done extra careful or else we could cause further damage." At the mention of her father, Ino felt herself deflate again. Damn that Tsukiyomi! Giving her the illusion that her father was still alive! But Ino shrugged it off. It wasn't the time to think of such matters. She'll let herself grieve over her father when she gets back home, but right now she had a duty to fullfil, which was to check on the survivors.

"Don't worry," Ino grinned charmingly at Sai, whose stoic face was giving a few hints of concern. "Tsunade-sama can heal him psychologically. She once did the same to Sasuke-kun when his brother placed him under the Tsukiyomi when we were kids."

"Speaking of which," Shikamaru spoke up, finally arriving. "I wonder where those two are." He asked, referring to Naruto and Sasuke.

"I hope they're alright." Choji says, clutching his large stomach. "When we all get back to Konoha, we should have a huge food celebration in honor of winning the war."

"That's too troublesome," Sighed Shikamaru, only wanting to forget the whole ordeal and go to sleep.

"Well I think it's a great idea!" Ino gushed and got up to her feet, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Maybe we can have it in form of a festival! I _love _festivals!" She stated rather pointedly, her eyes darting to Sai.

"Me too! There's always a lot of good food!" Choji nodded in excitement.

Shikamaru sighed, tilting his head lazily to the side. It's too troublesome, really, but he found himself thinking that maybe troublesome is good. For you know, distraction.

* * *

><p>"Sasuke-kun!" Screamed Karin, tears running down her face. "Sasuke-kun, where are you!?"<p>

"Geez, will you shut up!?" Suigetsu hissed, annoyed of what he woke up to. He'd rather stay in the damn tree if it meant getting away from Karin! What a shame how he had to wake up in reality. His dream was rather nice, getting all the blades of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. GAH! Why did he have to wake up and get stuck with this stupid fangirl!?

"No, _you _shut up!" Karin snapped back before crying out loud again, tears streaming down her face.

"Guys," Jugo said in a low voice. "Keep it down, both of you. Now that the war is over, the alliance between enemies is forgone; we must go before they arrest us."

"Well I ain't having none of that anymore." Suigetsu said. "It was really dull in that damn cell."

"I'm not leaving!" Said Karin, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I'm going to stay with Sasuke-kun forever! I miss him so much! I want to cop a feel of his—"

Jugo cleared his throat, interrupting Karin's loud thoughts. "Sasuke…we don't know what happened to him, nor what his decision is. What if he goes back to Konoha, Karin? What will you do then?"

"Stay with him." She answered with a tone of finality. "He is the only man I want to be with forever."

"They're not going to allow that, you know." Suigetsu remarked.

"Shut up or I'll kill you!" Karin screamed.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "And some people think it's only guys who get hot and bothered."

* * *

><p>"Leaving so soon?"<p>

Kabuto glanced back at the voice. It was Orochimaru, but his body seemed to be hidden by the leaves and branches of the trees. He had been waiting for the man to make his presence known since he was hidden from the view of the obliterated battlefield. He stopped his movements, planting his feet firmly on a branch. "I don't think they'll be very happy to see me, Orochimaru-sama. They're going to arrest me for my crimes."

"Ah yes, I'm in the same situation as well." There was a movement in front of him, and out from the shadows came Orochimaru.

"So you're leaving as well?" Maybe they will once again work together, but this time less on evil and unorthodox experiments.

"I'm not so sure, really." Says Orochimaru, his eyes glancing to where they had come from; to the battlefield. "There are things that I wanted to settle first before leaving, but it seems like she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Is it the Godaime Hokage you wish to speak to? The other remaining Sannin?"

Orochimaru nodded. "I haven't given up in trying to reconcile things with her. I already know that we won't ever be friends again. My sins cannot be cleansed, even after my death nor will it be forgotten by those who I have hurt. But I want her to at least hear me out. After all these years, I just want to talk."

"Is this by any chance related to what you saw during the Infinite Tsukiyomi?" Kabuto asked, curious as to the sudden desire of one of the Sannin to talk to his other teammate.

"Perhaps," Answered Orochimaru ambiguously. "But trivial matters such as that don't concern you, now do they Kabuto?"

"Of course not, Orochimaru-sama."

"How about you? What are your plans?"

Kabuto smiled softly. "I still wish to follow you, Orochimaru-sama, but I may not be able to return to your side at once. There is a place that I must visit. I've been terribly late for it and I don't think I must waste any more time."

"Then for now, we shall part ways,"

"Indeed, but we will meet again soon."

And with a meaningful nod, the two men moved in different directions.

* * *

><p>"What was your dream, Shino?" Asked Kiba as his team walked over the debris.<p>

"I discovered a new bug species." Shino answered, sounding depressed.

"That's cool, Shino-kun," Said Hinata, giving him an encouraging smile. "I'm sure that one day you'll be able to achieve that dream of yours. How about you Kiba-kun?"

"I became Hokage!" Said Kiba proudly, showing off his charming fanged smile.

"How about you, Hinata?" Shino asked, Suddenly, Hinata felt her cheeks go hot at the memory of what had happened. It felt so real that she could feel Naruto's lips on her—

"There's no need to ask that, Shino!" Kiba said. "I think we _all _know what had been going through that pretty little head of hers, eh Hinata?"

"Kiba-kun, y-you're making it sound like I've been thinking of something explicit."

Kiba smirked. "Hey, you're the one who said that, not me."

"K-k-kiba-kun!" Hinata yelled in embarrassment, fifty shades of red.

"Oi, don't torment the poor girl!" A voice to their right yelled out. They turn to see it was Tenten, all dirty and roughed up like everyone else.

"Ah, hi Tenten!" Hinata greeted cheerfully. Although she didn't know the girl very well, she had a liking for Tenten. Even thought that she would be good for Neji.

"I'm glad you're alright!" The weapons master grinned brightly.

"How about Lee and Gai-sensei?" Kiba asked. "How are they?"

Tenten made a face that the trio couldn't identify. "Lee's perfectly fine. Gai-sensei…Gai-sensei can't move his legs anymore." The news brought out gasps from the younger shinobis, and a somber silence fell over them. Losing his legs only meant one thing for a shinobi: it was the end of his ninja career. The man had been a very skilled fighter, hard working and zealous, but now there was nothing they could do.

"Lee was in the same position though!" Said Kiba. "Maybe there's a chance!"

"Gai-sensei opened the eight gates. He should be dead right now if it weren't for Naruto doing something to him that prevented him from dying." She pointed towards where Lee and Gai were. Lee was sitting next to Gai, whose body was red from his Night Moth technique, with a worried look on his face.

"That's really sad," Hinata said, her eyes casting towards her feet. "Are you sure that he can't move them? Maybe it's just temporary—I can take a look!" Without a second wasted, Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked at the two men.

Hinata was crestfallen. The nerves in his spine that are essential for the movement of the legs were severed completely, He had the same case as Lee before. His chakra network of his two lower limbs were shut down. Not only that, but Gai's right leg had extensive damage that would have been incredibly painful if it wasn't for his loss of feeling on the lower portion of his body. It was sad for Hinata to see such a man lose an integral part of his body. But knowing what he had gone through, Might-o Gai, Konoha's Green Beast, was lucky that it was the only damage it had on him for opening the eight gates should have taken his life.

Before Hinata could shut off her kekkei genkai, she spotted a _huge _amount of chakra in the distance. She had never seen anything a huge as that, except for the Bijuus she witnessed during the war—

Bijuu. It was a Bijuu.

It was Naruto.

* * *

><p>In the horizon, Sakura could see the Juubi Tree. It was just a small stick in the distance, and yet its appearance has tied her insides to knots. She wasn't able to digest the thought of seeing the damage of the war. Who else had given their lives? Who had suffered great consequences? Is anyone alright, whether physically or mentally? She felt a great anxiety and her eyebrows knitted together as the troubling thoughts built up in her head.<p>

"Sakura-chan, stop chewing your lip" Kakashi yawned, his eye never leaving his book. "It's bleeding."

Sakura made a face when she registered the metallic taste of blood, but it was something she had disturbingly become accustomed to in the past few days. She licked her lip and winced at the pain that sliced through her lip. It was funny how she could have a kunai lodge into her side and she wouldn't even bat an eyelid, but once it came to the little things she reacted easily.

"You've been sleeping a lot," Commented Sakura as Kakashi's onyx eye blinked sleepily. "Ah well, side effects of losing the sharingan, I guess."

"How are we going to explain that? In fact, how are we going to explain everything!?" For Sakura, it had been pretty much a blur of dimensions and tailed beasts and final goodbyes and tears. The tears she could remember the most. Damn Sasuke for being able to make her feel so desperate! Boys are such, borrowing a word from Shikamaru's vocabulary, troublesome creatures, she swears. She has enough pride and sense to know that she is above the silly boys who every now and then tries to get in her pants, but when it comes to Sasuke…when it comes to him she's unable to stop herself from lowering her pride and reduce into a puddle of tears. He had tried to kill her, and yet she's still in love with him.

"Well, we could always start with Black Zetsu," Suggested Kakashi.

"Don't forget the Reverse Harem, dattebayo!" Naruto piped in proudly.

"And when you and Obito saved Sasuke,"

"Or when Obito gave Kaka-sensei both sharingans temporarily and his flying Susanoo—which is terribly overpowered, Kaka-sensei," Naruto said, shooting the man a look. He shrugged.

"Don't forget the part when you and Sasuke-kun sealed her though!" Sakura smiled brightly.

"Of course, if it weren't for both of your help it wouldn't be possible," Naruto beamed.

"How about Madara and Hashirama's last words? Or your talk with your dad, Naruto?"

Naruto mulled it over before saying, "I think we should just brush that over, as well as Sasuke hurting you and trying to take over the world, -ttebayo. Let's just tell the details to Tsunade-baachan and tell the others that we just had a score to settle."

"So no one will antagonize Sasuke more than they do already, right Naruto?" Said Kakashi.

The blonde nodded. "I also feel like Madara and Hashirama's last conversation is very private. I'd like it if we're the only ones who know about it, as well as my dad's last words, -ttebayo."

"People are going to say you went overboard with your fight if it's just a score to settle, though." Sakura said.

"Eh, they'll probably just shrug and says 'boys', roll their eyes then leave it be, dattebayo"

Sakura nodded in agreement. Her gaze moves towards Sasuke again, who didn't join in the conversation. His eyes were fixed on the path in front of him, quietly brooding over whatever is in his head. He was such an enigma, Sasuke Uchiha. There were times she was able to understand him, and others she's exasperatedly confused. Then her eyes travel to Naruto, and Sakura feels a sense of gratitude wash over her as she remembered.

"Eh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto noticed the way Sakura had been staring at him. She never looked at him that way before, like she was so happy and on the verge of tears at the same time. Her cracked lips widened into a grin, and suddenly Sakura launched herself onto him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him tightly to her chest.

"Thank you, Naruto. Thank you for keeping your promise."

Naruto out of shock stayed still at the warmth of the girl he loved. He wanted Sakura to hold him like this for the rest of time, her sweet scent mingled with dust, sweat and blood so potent that he wanted to crush her in his arms. He loves her. He loves her so much and his eyes water at the overwhelming feeling of both the love he felt towards his friend and the sense of accomplishment that bloomed in his gut.

"We're not in Konoha yet, Sakura-chan. I technically haven't brought him back home."

"I know," Sakura's voice trembled, pulling away from his arms, much to Naruto's disappointment. He wanted to hold her close again, even if just one more second. She grinned a wobbly grin as tears streamed down her face from the action. "But I'm just so happy."

"I told you that I'd bring him back, didn't I? It was a promise of a lifetime."

* * *

><p><strong>First chapter is done! Thanks for reading, and I hope you will leave reviews and stay tuned for the story! Updates are inconsistent because I'm a very busy high school student, but<strong> **promise they won't be more than two months. ^^**


	2. Casualties

**A/N I'm not gonna lie, I'm not good at rapping. So let's just imagine Bee rapping even though his words are far from rhyming. I tried, but failed terribly.**

**i changed some things in the previous chapters. Nothing drastic, just details because now that I read the Colorkage chapter of 699, I realized I got some things wrong. Oh! and someone mentioned that Kakashi didn't call Sakura with -chan. I honestly don't remember many details of Naruto without doing a little research (you have no idea how much I had to for this chapter for certain characters), and I partly blame the many KakaSaku fanfics I've read (the fanfics written about them are just so good and well written it's my guilty pleasure), but I'm going to keep Kakashi calling her that because I like to think that Kakashi calls her that fondly whenever they're not on a mission/doing some serious business.**

**This is long overdue I am so sorry.**

* * *

><p>Anko coughed into her curled fist as she staggered out of the cave she had woken up in. Her memory was hazy and questionable, bits and pieces sloshed together, making no sense at all. There was her team, then Kabuto, then—then what? She couldn't recall anything but the hot prickle of her neck at one point.<p>

Her slender fingers brushed over where her curse seal was. The area immediately throbbed under the soft contact, and she grimaced. She felt like she was a child again when Orochimaru first marked her with the three tomoe seal. It burned as though an iron brand was struck onto her skin, making her nerves sizzle alight with the unbearable heat that ran its course throughout her body. Despite it lasting for less than five seconds, the pain was still crippling and it left her groaning on her knees.

The purple haired kunoichi wiped the lingering blood from her wounds and wandered out into the forest. She soon found the place where she and her team stationed themselves when they were observing Kabuto's movements before they were found. She found food and water, to which she helped herself with generously. She was starving, as though she hasn't eaten in days.

How long was she out? Was everyone on her team dead? She was frightened, but it wasn't the first time she has woken up in this situation. She was strong, level headed, and after gulping away half the water in her stash she wiped her lips from the back of her hand, gathered what she would need for the journey ahead and quickly left the area.

* * *

><p>Bee brushed his free hand over his muscular stomach, feeling an empty, hollow space inside him that he couldn't pinpoint exactly. Nearly all his life he had Gyuki inside of him, his chakra warm and peaceful inside him—although that was not the case in their early years. He didn't know that it made him feel safer until the loss. Now, B felt like he was detached without Gyuki's reassuring presence. While he had one hand on a severed tail, it wasn't the same.<p>

"Killer Bee?" Asked a young Iwa shinobi whose name Bee was unaware of. "Are you able to get up?"

"Barely, but I can manage," Bee rapped in a raspy voice, getting up to his feet with wobbly knees. His sight clouded from the movement and a cough wracked through his body. With alarming laborious breaths, he manages to keep himself on his feet.

Bee gave the man a tight lipped smile when he saw the worried look directed to him. "No need to worry, I'm all good," But they both knew that it was a lie. Bee hadn't been looking too good since he awoke from the Infinite Tsukiyomi. He was staggering on his feet and he was in terrible pain that, while he didn't comment on it, was evident on the loosely masked pain on his face and the tension in his body. He was on the verge of death and there was nothing anyone could do.

If they were being honest, it was about time. He was supposed to die the instant his Bijuu was ripped away from him, but he was lucky to find one of Gyuki's severed tail, which served to be his source of life force. After the Infinite Tsukiyomi sucked out a lot of his own chakra, which was already depleted from the war, the tail Gyuki left behind wouldn't be enough for Bee.

The crunch of gravelly footsteps on his left caught Bee's attention. The man's dark gaze slid towards the figure to see it was his brother, Ei. The Raikage's usually stern and intimidating expression was worrisome. His fair eyebrows were knitted together as he assessed Bee's body.

"Bee," Said the Raikage, taking a step forward. The former jinchuuriki opened his mouth to respond, but inside Bee's chest his lungs constricted in exertion. A look of incredible pain crossed Bee's face as he fell to his knees, both his hands on the ground to prevent himself from faceplanting. Pebbles dug into his rough hands, but the pain was keeping him back from the seductive lull of sleep that Bee was very tempted to indulge in. He was tired, _so tired_. He hasn't slept in days, and he couldn't breathe. He wanted to sleep on the ground already, even though it was rocky and broken.

"Bee!" The Raikage yelled in alarm, dashing towards his younger brother. He slung Bee's arm over his shoulder and barked at the Iwa shinobi to help him carry his brother. The two of them quickly moved in search for the one woman Ei was sure could help Bee hang on a little more.

"Hokage," A gruff voice called out behind Tsunade as she finished healing a Suna shinobi whose arm was originally barely together. The woman got back up to her feet and turned around.

Bee's arms were slung over an Iwa shinobi's shoulder and the Raikage's shoulder, looking so weak that she doubted he barely has any strength to spare to take a stable step on his own. Tsunade was quite unnerved to see the expression on Ei's face. She has never seen the Raikage look so worried. Even when they were up against Madara, he wasn't the least perturbed, but now it was obvious he was even holding back some tears.

Tsunade quickly moved to the three men. She instructed them to kick away stray rocks onto the nearly level ground and lay the man there. A groan slipped past Bee's lips when he was settled onto the ground, and Tsunade immediately got to work. On her knees, her hands emitted a green light as her pliant fingers hovered over Bee's tattered clothes.

"Will Bee be alright?" Asked Ei behind her. The woman's lips settled into a grim line, trying to find the words to tell the Raikage.

"It is inevitable, Raikage. The Hachibi was taken from him; I'm surprised that he's not dead yet. He should be, immediately after it was extracted from him."

"He was using a tail that Gyuki left behind."

"Mmm." Tsunade said thoughtfully "Well, even though he was able to hold on after all the time that passed by since the Hachibi was extracted from him, his body is already deteriorating. From healing Naruto again and again, I've noticed that Jinchuurikis rely heavily on their Bijuu's chakra even when they aren't even using their power. Their chakra does a lot of damage to their bodies, but it's also the reason why their bodies do not break under the exposure. Seeing how his body systems are quickly failing right now, without the Bijuu's chakra to support him, his body is in critical condition." Tsunade's eyes met Ei's eyes. "I cannot do anything but give him five minutes at most."

The information was a heavy blow to Ei. His eyes moved to Bee's face, who looked like he was barely able to see or breathe. A wheeze of air escaped his parted lips in irregular patterns, hinting his difficulty in breathing. Grief washed over the Raikage, knowing that this was the last few minutes of his brother's life. He knelt next to B and with a slightly trembling hand reached out to his arm. The Raikage grasped his thick bicep and gave it a soft, reassuring squeeze. Bee's eyes slid towards his older brother and tried to speak to him, but he could only muster a weak, mewling sound.

* * *

><p>The sun was beating down on Gaara as he hovered over the battlefield on his sand. Despite the cool October air that blew into his face as he willed his sand to move across the battlefield, sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He didn't notice it though, for his attention was solely on the area beneath him.<p>

The bloody, lifeless bodies of shinobis who did not make it littered the vicinity. There was a grim frown on Gaara's face as he mentally counted the bodies that scattered across the broken ground, all their eyes glassy and faraway. Gaara wasn't easily perturbed, but as he continued on to count the number of bodies he soared over, disgust and anguish filled his chest. He knew that death was inevitable during a war, but the sight left his stomach queasy. Some bodies were stabbed with thorns curling in different directions, others even mangled and bent in ways that looked very painful. There were gaunt faces, bulging unseeing eyes, and blood-crusted lips. The smell of death hung heavily in the atmosphere, causing Gaara's face to ashen.

When he counted the final body, Gaara did not look back as he moved away from the area. His stomach jittered nervously, anxiously, and he partly blames it on the significant loss of chakra in his body that left him weak. His pale eyes were transfixed on the giant tree ahead of him, eager to leave the area before he would vomit.

Soon, he saw both his siblings right where he left them. Temari first found him up in the sky, then Kankuro when she pulled on the sleeve of her younger brother's clothing to get his attention. Kankuro, with smudged face paint and haphazard hair not unlike his morning hair whenever he oversleeps for his morning duties, jogged up to Gaara as he landed. "How was it?"

Gaara shook his head, his lips pursed grimly. "More than two hundred. And that's only in the west."

Temari's eyes slid to her feet, her shoulders rigid at the information. Kankuro placed a comforting hand on his sister's small shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do then." Kankuro said, reminding her of the job Gaara has entrusted them to do; to help seal the dead that are from Suna to avoid any revelations about their village's secrets.

Temari nodded, her expression troubled digesting the new information, but nonetheless moved forward.

It was only then did Gaara notice the slight rhythmic pattern that shook the ground. It was subtle, but strong enough for him to notice the pebbles on the ground jump and tremble. Temari gave Gaara a confused look and asked what was happening, seeing the look on the redhead's face, but Gaara paid no heed to her. He focused on the tremble that shook his frame slightly, but growing in strength.

"Don't you feel that?" Gaara asked, eyes darting towards his siblings. "Footsteps. Really big footsteps."

His two siblings stayed still for a moment before realization lit up their features a second later. "Something big's coming." Said Kankuro. "Maybe the war isn't totally over."

Gaara did not respond, for he was busy directing his chakra to his eye, which then separated itself from his head. The blue green eye floated in front of him as his index and middle finger covered the empty socket. Kankuro next to him made a light disgusted sound, still unable to digest his brother's ability. "Still can't get over that," He muttered.

The red haired kage mentally commanded his eye to move with the chakra he infused in it. Quickly, it sped over the ground quickly, and in a minute Gaara had a clear view on what exactly was approaching.

"What is it?" Asked Temari worriedly. A grin broke out on her youngest brother's face. "It's Naruto."

"So he survived?" Kankuro asked with a relieved smile. Everyone had been wondering, though no one expressed it for fear of taboo, if Naruto had sacrificed his life for the fate of the world. While they were sure they were released from the Tsukiyomi thanks to him, the fact that no one knows where he was made the idea of him dying the most likely thing to happen after facing Madara, an awesome adversary. But Gaara saw Naruto using his eye, sitting in between Sakura and Kakashi, with Sasuke on the other side of Sakura. He noted the beat up faces and the bloody stumps of both Naruto and Sasuke, as well as the red chakra cloak and slitted eyes Naruto had. What happened to them, Gaara wondered to himself. While they were completely battered and worn out, Sakura, who he has regarded as one of the best medics around thanks to her skills in antidotes for saving his brother's life a few years back, and Kakashi, the renowned Sharingan user, were looking much better in comparison. Kakashi looked fatigued, and Sakura had an ugly wound on her arm. However, Kakashi looked at ease with his eyes glued onto the same book Gaara always saw him with when they weren't doing serious business and Sakura was smiling as her gazes moved between Naruto and Sasuke, who were engaged in what looked like a friendly bicker.

They were happy.

"Yeah, and it looks like he's finally brought Sasuke back."

"W-what?" Kankuro spluttered. "You mean that bastard's alive?" He, along with a lot of people, had been hoping that the youngest remaining Uchiha would die in the war.

"Yeah, but things looked settled between them." There was an air around Sasuke that, for once, didn't emanate strength and intimidation. He looked contented, peaceful even. The cold facade he always wore didn't fool Gaara one bit. Not when he is responding to his former teammates with that tiny smile.

* * *

><p>"We are having ramen when we get back to Konoha, and you're treating Sasuke!"<p>

"Shut up. I'm not treating anyone."

"Eh!? But you have to! It's your coming back home celebration."

"Hn."

"OI, DON'T YOU 'HN' ME, TEME!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"OI SASUKE. DON'T YOU IGNORE-" Naruto's words were cut off by Sakura's harsh hit to the back of his head. "YOU SHUT UP NARUTO!" She yelled angrily, quickly delivering an upper cut to the blonde. "You've been shouting in my ear, damn it!"

"S-Sakura-chan." Naruto groaned In pain. "You're always so harsh to me."

"That's because you're annoying. If you behaved for once, then maybe I wouldn't be easily angry over you." Sakura shook her head, sighing. "I doubt Sasuke could eat with us when we get back, he's most likely going to be under arrest for the crimes that he has done. After the stunt he pulled in the Summit, we're probably not going to see him as much as he want, and even without that Konoha has branded him as a traitor. They would never let him go back without a punishment for leaving years ago."

"Eh…well, couldn't they reconsider? He _did _save the world."

"Perhaps, if they're kind enough. But not everyone is like you Naruto. There are people who think that he must atone for his sins with death." Sakura inwardly sighed, her viridian gaze sliding from Naruto's heavily whiskered face to her tangled fingers. They may have been able to bring Sasuke back home but they weren't going to be complete. She always dreamt of having dinner with the whole of Team 7 when he came back, even if it was in Ichiraku. Naruto would flick food at Sasuke and try to bicker with him whilst the lone Uchiha would smoothly evade the tiny noodle pieces and ignore his childish banters just like the old days. Kakashi would sit quietly with a book over his lips as he hid his face whilst he ate. And they'd all try to make ways to see him. Even Sasuke, who didn't usually care to indulge in their childish behavior would glance out of the corner of his eye to see. She could even imagine them failing and getting depressed, and their sensei would stealthily leave without paying, making them tick with anger.

The thought always warmed her heart, and she had made that very thought her goal throughout all these years.

"Ah, you're right." Naruto said quietly. It had escaped him that he was a criminal. People didn't like Sasuke and always saw him as a threat. If he were to come back to Konoha, the the villagers would treat the Uchiha the same way they treated him when he was a child; an outcast. Naruto didn't want that at all. He wanted Sasuke to feel at home at Konoha. Naruto well knew that he had stopped considering it his home since the Massacre, although he stayed there for a few more years until he left the village to attain power from Orochimaru. The blonde wanted his friend to see it as his home once again, to make him feel welcome and loved. It would be a hard task; even gaining approval from their friends would be a challenge. But Naruto believed that soon enough, they would come to accept Sasuke back.

"I wonder how we're going to get rid of that tree though," Sakura brought Naruto out of his thoughts, and the blonde's gaze snapped back to pink haired girl, who was looking wistfully at the distance. "It's a very big tree; I don't think it will be easy to get rid of it."

"Doesn't it need chakra? Maybe after some time it will wilt, once the chakra it has taken is depleted."

"But that's still dangerous." Sakura's forehead creased with worry. "I don't like the thought of leaving it out here. I know that there's no one controlling the thing, but I can't help but think that it would grab us in our sleep and everyone will be trapped in it again, including us."

Naruto grinned brightly. "Don't worry Sakura-chan! We'll tell Tsunade Baa-chan about this and maybe put up a barrier to be safe."

As Sakura and Naruto's conversation moved on, Sasuke's thoughts were in a faraway place. A place he once called home, where his life changed drastically.

For the first time in four years, Sasuke yearned to go back to Konoha.

He was battered, bloodied and left with only one arm. The blood-crusted stump of what used to be a whole arm was numb, thanks to Sakura's healing abilities. Sasuke had never felt so exhausted, both physically and emotionally that it was a wonder that he could move without any assistance, unlike Kakashi who was still suffering from the effects of losing his Sharingan—Obito's sharingan. He doubted, however, he could do half the damage he was able to do on a normal day. His breaths were shortened and his body was aching, but the dobe, who suffered just as much as he did, was smiling and laughing without a care in the world. He seemed to be at ease even, and as Sasuke carefully studied his profile, his red slitted gaze moved over to him.

"What are you looking at, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, surprised at the attention that was given to him, but Sasuke simply ignored him and shifted his gaze away. While Naruto yapped away about Sasuke's indifferent behavior, the Uchiha locked his eyes on the path in front of them. They were much closer to the battlefield than he had anticipated. His obsidian eyes silently remorse at his surroundings quickly. There were too many casualties. Mangled, pierced bodies littered the dry soil they were now treading on, the stench of the corpses making him sick and uneasy. This was roughly more than half of the Shinobi alliance. His eyes slid away from the shocking sight and he locked gazes with Kakashi.

Kakashi had participated in a war before, had seen distressing sights and lost those who he held most dear to him. He suffered from the trauma for many years and had shut off his emotions and barely talked to anyone outside of work. While he was sure that none of his students had gone through as much pain as he did, he saw the flicker of ugly horror in their eyes that brought him back in time and made him _feel _like he was a young teen upon discovering the awful emotions warfare left in its devastated wake.

The white haired man regarded Sasuke first. He studied the way Sasuke lowered his head and covered his eyes at the horrifying spectacle they were forced to view. The corner of his lip twitched slightly that would have gone unnoticed under an untrained eye, then his sharp gaze met his own, and right then Kakashi realized that Sasuke was not as good as hiding his feelings as he had thought. Even as a child, the ebony haired teen could not mask the truth from his eyes, which were glinting with anger and grief at the sight. Immediately, Sasuke's eyes dart away from his, but Kakashi had already seen the emotions swirling in the obsidian depths of his eyes.

Sakura was breathless at the sight, tears forming in her eyes as they darted from one space to another. As she digested the information, she moved a curled hand over her mouth, her bloody knuckles shy from brushing her lips. Kakashi noted the slight tremble in her shoulders as she continued to look around, and the man looked away immediately, not wanting to see the girl break down for at the moment, it was Rin who he saw.

But Naruto…Naruto was already crying when Kakashi got to him. Tears streaked down his whiskered cheeks as he stared sightlessly ahead. He saw the repulsion bloom on his face, which then turned into anger. He gritted his teeth and Kakashi heard a curse mumbled under his breath. Quickly, the blonde jumped off from the top of the Bijuu's head and moved down onto the broken land where the dead bodies lied.

He couldn't believe how many people had perished in the war. While ultimately he did save the world, Naruto felt weak for being unable to save all these people. He knew that death was inevitable, but to see this lot…they were already too many and it wasn't even everyone. There were other parts of the battlefield he was yet to see, and there was the war that occurred against the Edo Tensei. A lot more people have died and he couldn't bear the thought that these people have given up their lives.

If only he had been earlier. If only he had gotten through Kurama earlier, maybe then there wouldn't be so many casualties. Maybe these people wouldn't have died.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, his chakra cloak was getting unstable once again. Behind him, the cloak's tail split into two.

However Kakashi quickly noticed this and jumped down to the ground before Sakura and Sasuke could react.

"Naruto." Kakashi said in a level tone. Naruto turned his cheek towards him, wet with tears of grief and self-loathe. "Kaka-sensei. If only…if only I was stronger…maybe…"

"Stop it Naruto." Kakashi knew that if he didn't get Naruto to calm down then he would lose himself to the Kyuubi's chakra. "I know that you must be blaming yourself for this, but it's not your fault. You know that you can't stop death in war. It's inevitable!"

"I know!" Naruto seethed, his nails digging into the rough palm of his palm. "But I could've stopped more people from dying."

"Don't be so cocky, Naruto." Sasuke interjected when he jumped right next to Kakashi with Sakura by his side. "Just because you saved the world doesn't mean you can save everyone. You couldn't have stopped this even if you did become stronger earlier. No one knew what call to make, what attack the Juubi was going to send our way. The fate of this battle was one no one knew—not even the Sage of Six Paths."

"Sasuke's right, Naruto." Sakura stepped forward, trusting Naruto not to hurt her in his unstable state despite the fact that he hurt her in the past. "Stop blaming yourself for this, you've done what you could."

"You don't understand, Sakura-chan!" He growls, stepping away from the girl, but when he opened his mouth to continue, Sakura had beaten him to it.

"I do!" She all but screamed in frustration. "How many people do you think I've tried to heal? How many people do you think died on me when I was doing my best to mend their wounds!? More than _half_, Naruto. I could've done better, saved more lives. I was trained by Tsunade and is recognized as the best medic of my age in Konoha. I've worked hard to achieve where I am, but I've accepted that there are just some things that are out of my control—and you should do the same." Sakura huffed, crossing her arms. "Trust me; it will take a lot of load off your shoulders."

"Sakura-chan—" Naruto tried to continue, but Sakura saw the stubborn look of defeat in Naruto's eyes. She has had about enough of Naruto blaming himself for all this. "No, _you _listen to me Naruto. I may not have the special powers you and Sasuke have and I may be a girl so maybe you think that it's fine for me. Because I couldn't have done anything in the first place. But—_ggh_!"

Naruto's eyes widened when Sakura's determined expression faltered into pain. He immediately rushes to Sakura, who was clutching the front of her shirt desperately. A choked sound left her mouth as she fell to her knees. "Sakura!" He yelled in alarm and catches the kunoichi just as she was about to reel over and faceplant herself into the ground.

There it was again. The pain that kept on occurring ever since she got out of Sasuke's brutal genjutsu.

She gasped as her vision darkened for a moment, and her fingers clutch onto the fabric of her pants as she tried to bear with the terrible slicing pain in her chest. Naruto did not notice this, but Sakura could feel Kakashi's heavy gaze on her. Her emerald eyes dart to meet his charcoal ones and gave him a look that said she was alright.

Biting her lip, she quietly tried to regulate her breathing. The chest pain made it troubling for her to breathe, for every time she inhaled it was as though she was jabbed by a knife once again. Inside her head, she was in turmoil. She couldn't heal it, even until now. When she first experienced this after a few minutes waking up it was much worse; she couldn't handle the pain at all. She blacked out, even, only to wake up two minutes later with a worried Kakashi looking after her. On the third attack she had Sakura managed to get through it without fainting, but it worried her how she couldn't heal the pain. For some reason, the pain would not subside at once when she directed her chakra to her chest. When she healed herself, the pain would disappear quickly even if the wound wasn't completely healed yet, but it was still painful for her to breathe even if she concentrated hard.

Now as she tried to push herself to heal, she panicked over the fact that she really couldn't do anything about it. The pain did subside, but only because time had passed. Her skills had no effect on her, and all she wanted to do was talk to the Hokage about this. Tsunade was, after all, a world renowned medic nin, if not the best in the world. If there was anyone who could figure out what was wrong with her, then it would be her Shishou.

"What the hell was that!?" Naruto demanded when Sakura was able to suppress the lingering pain and sit up. She swallowed thickly, shaking her head in exhaustion. It was as though all strength has left her body, and she was left boneless. "Sakura-chan," The blonde pressed when Sakura refused to answer back.

"It's n-nothing. I've been…having chest pains recently. But it's fine."

"It doesn't look fine Sakura-chan."

"Don't worry, Naruto." She waves him off, putting on a brave face as she get up on her feet. Her knees trembled under her weight, but she managed to stand up straight and brush her hair over her shoulder."I think it's just overexhaustion. Plus the stench in this place isn't all that good you know? Come on," She says, sending a smile over her shoulder, as if she wasn't grimacing in pain a moment ago.

Sakura turned her gaze forward to meet Sasuke's charcoal eyes. There was a lingering question in his gaze, but Sakura avoids it smoothly, only to meet Kakashi's meaningful gaze.

_You can't heal it, can you?_

When Sasuke turned around to get back on the Bijuu, she placed her index finger on her lips.

_Shhh_.

* * *

><p>The crowd erupted wildly when Naruto jumped down from Gyuki before gasps of horror were heard from those who were in very front. The blonde gave them a shy smile and scratched the back of his head with his only hand.<p>

"Naruto, what happened to your arm?"

"Red chakra cloak? I thought you had Kurama under your control?"

"Did you lose your arm to Madara?"

The questions were thrown at Naruto, to which he was having a hard time avoiding. "Guys, guys," He tries to placate the crowd, but they only grew in hunger for information to which Naruto sweatdropped when they continued on with their noise.

Sakura and Sasuke appeared behind him, supporting Kakashi who was still suffering from the overexertion of using both of Obito's sharingan. Everyone gaped at Sasuke, whose cold gaze intimidated anyone who dared to meet it.

"It's Sasuke!"

"He's alive!"

"What happened to Kakashi?"

"Is that Sakura-san?"

"Look, he doesn't have an arm!"

"Did they help Naruto save the world?"

"Look at his eye!"

"So Sasuke really is on our side now?"

"Doesn't that pink haired girl like the Uchiha?"

Naruto was lost for words, not knowing what to say to the crowd. If only they stopped bombarding him with questions!

Sakura giggled, seeing the bewildered look on Naruto's face. She placed a hand on his shoulder, catching his attention. "I think we should explain to them about what happened some other time. If you start telling them about Kaguya, they won't stop hounding you for answers."

The girl had a point, and so Naruto turned to the crowd with a nervous smile. He calmly told them that he has indeed defeated Madara and that he, with the help of Sasuke, stopped the infinite Tsukiyomi, and that they lost their arms in the process. When they started with the questions again, Naruto said that it was a very long war and that he was tired. "You guys had been out for about a day and a half too, and I only got little rest since."

"A day and a half!?" The crowd loudly exclaimed to one another. "How long have you guys fought Madara?"

Well, it was only for like five minutes until Black Zetsu came. Despite Sakura's suggestion, Naruto felt the need to answer the questions sent his way. He also didn't want to just say yes for the sake of finishing the damn interview, but he didn't want to tell the truth for they would surely ask more questions. Luckily for him, a distraction came along.

"Naruto!" A gruff voice yelled. Everyone turned to the source to see it was Ei, the Raikage. "Hachibi, you're here!" The one armed man pointed towards the distance to answer the unspoken question in Gyuki's gaze. "The Hokage is treating him. He's barely alive right now. We have to seal you into him."

Without another word, Ei jumped onto the head of the Eight Tails. People moved to give the beast some space to move towards the barely alive man in the horizon. They watched in awe as Gyuki treaded on with heavy steps, and when they were in the clear, they all swallowed up Team 7 again, congratulating them for saving the world.

While the crowd was busy giving recognition to their saviors, Gyuki and Ei quickly appeared by Bee's side. The former Jinchuuriki's breaths were short and staggering, and there was a crinkle on Tsunade's forehead when she turned to them.

"Are we ready to go on with the sealing?" There was barely any time before Bee would let go of his hold and she needed to work fast if she wanted to save the man's life. Ei jumped off Gyuki and landed next to the Iwa shinobi who had been giving Tsunade some assistance during her healing session with Bee. He was staring dumbfounded at the big beast in front of him, and it was only when Ei clapped a large hand on his shoulder was he able to snap out of his reverie.

Quickly, the man ripped Bee's top open as though it was paper. Ei kneeled on the other side of Bee and lit each of his fingers with blue fire. Tsunade's hazel eyes met Ei's green ones. "Are you sure? Your life will be sacrificed upon doing this."

"Anything for my brother," Said Ei, and with his free hand holding onto Gyuki's foot, the Raikage's fingertips touched Bee's toned stomach.

Searing pain flashed through Ei's outstretched arms, hot and burning like liquid fire in his veins. A grunt of pain escaped him as he serves as the guide of Gyuki's behemoth chakra into Bee's body. Then, it was all over, and Ei felt all the strength in his body leave him just as Bee roused back into consciousness.

Ei's body trembled violently and fell harshly on the space next to Bee. He rolled onto his back and sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes rolled back. The man was in too much pain to notice the hand that was placed on his chest. He felt himself slipping away from reality, but something clung onto him, not allowing him to slip away into the dark abyss. He felt something warm trickle from the top of his clothes into somewhere very deep in his chest, and the sensation was soothing, like silk caressing his skin.

The man made his way back into consciousness to see someone hovering over him. His first thought was Bee, but soon it registered to him that the man had a smaller build and whiskers on his face.

"Naruto…?" Ei groaned. The blonde detached his hand from his chest and gave him a bright grin.

"You should have told me you were going to sacrifice your life. I barely made it."

"But how…?" His death was unavoidable. Death must occur upon sealing a Bijuu. How did Naruto obtain the power to prevent his passing over? Well, whatever it is, Ei was thankful for Naruto and gave him a word of gratitude. The hero shrugged and pointed over at Bee. "Look, he's about to wake up."

Half a minute later Bee sat up, his face crumpled with pain. "Agh, that really hurts." But he could feel Gyuki's chakra starting to heal the damage of his body. A small smile appeared on the Jinchuuriki's face when he saw Naruto and Ei. "So you managed to save the world, eh? I'm proud of you, Naruto," He affectionately ruffled his messy blonde hair. "What's with the fox cloak thing, though?"

"It's a long story." He shrugged. The blonde then stood up and gave a hand to Bee. The man struggled, but managed to stay on his feet. He could feel his strength return and the pain fade from his body. He turned to his brother and mirrored Naruto and held out a hand. When the Raikage got up Bee gave his brother a hug. "Thank you," He genuinely says, and Ei patted him on the back before stepping away. "What brothers are for, right?"

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, coming through, best friend of Haruno Sakura over here!" Ino yelled out loud, pushing her way through the crowd. She gritted her teeth when the bodies stopped moving side to accommodate her when she was near her friend. "Oi! I said move it people! Don't make me use my mind-body switch technique on you guys!" She huffed, and soon enough her loud call caught the attention of many and they moved aside to let her pass.<p>

"Sakura!" She said out loud, relieved to see her best friend in one piece. Although she looked really bad with her messy hair and tattered clothes, she was safe and alive, and Ino breathed out in relief when she saw her smile to the guy she was conversing quietly with.

Only for her to suck it in again because it was _Sasuke_.

Her heart pounded quickly in her chest and she was suddenly aware of everything. The dark haired enigma was yet to notice her, but she felt like she was exposed all of a sudden, as if he was looking at her. She cleared her throat, smoothed out her hair and stepped forward to give Sakura a bear hug.

While Sakura was talking to Sasuke about something she couldn't really register because the fact that he was actually listening to her babble was such a surprise that she was unable to get over it, someone jumped at her and crushed her into a big hug.

"I'm glad that you aren't dead, Forehead. There would be no one for me to tease anymore."

A chuckle left Sakura's lips as her hands met behind Ino's tiny waist. "Ah, the world would despair if there was no one to catch your eye, eh Ino-pig?"

The beautiful blonde moved back with a teasing smirk and flicked Sakura on the forehead. "Congrats on achieving the Byakugou by the way. It's a nice accessory for your huge forehead."

"I know right? They match my eyes—oi!" The rose haired girl swatted her friend on the shoulder playfully and laughed along. Then, just as she planned, Ino's baby blue eyes smoothly moved to Sasuke and gave him a charismatic smile. "Sasuke-kun, you're back."

The man gave her a plain stare, but that did nothing to deter Ino. Hard to get was her favorite kind of guy. "So, where will you be having dinner tonight? Because I was thinking maybe we could have dinner in the new restaurant that just opened up when they rebuilt the village."

Sakura's jaw slacked in disbelief. That _bitch!_ Her greeting was just a plot to get near Sasuke! They were going to play this game again, weren't they? She sighed and smirked. Sakura decided to play along—there was no way she was going to let her take away the one she loved! But she wasn't going to sacrifice their friendship just as they had before. She was pretty sure that Ino won't let Sasuke get away with ruining their friendship again. This was merely a step up in their friendly rivalry with each other.

May the best girl win.

"Sorry, Ino, but you can't have that awaited dinner of yours with Sasuke just yet." A voice said behind Ino. The blonde turned around, her flirty smile going sour at the disruption. Her eyes met Shikamaru's serious gaze, and immediately she understands what he means.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you are under arrest for the crimes you have committed during the Kage Summit, as well as the desertion of Konoha four years ago."

A quiet hush settled over the crowd, surprised at the gall the Nara boy had. Sasuke turned to face Shikamaru. "I'll come complacently."

Shikamaru's serious face betrayed his emotions for he blinked in surprise. However, his expression smoothed over into a businesslike face. "Follow me." Then Shikamaru turned around along with the two Konoha shinobi Sakura recognized and walked away. Sakura's viridian gaze followed Sasuke, who complied with Shikamaru and walked along with them. The crowd parted as they passed, unable to speak up and break the tension that has settled over the group.

"I hope I get to see Sasuke-kun soon!" Ino sighed when the men disappeared from sight. "He's especially more handsome now, what with his chiseled features."

Sakura nodded in agreement, a frown marring her face. "Yeah. Me too."

"Sakura!" A demanding voice called out behind her. Sakura whirled around to face Tsunade's usual stern expression. "Hai!" She replied. The Hokage's long lashed eyes traveled down Sakura's body, inspecting her for what Sakura assumed were wounds. Save for the gash that was the acid burn on her arm and the small cuts on her face she didn't bother healing.

Then, the Hokage's lips stretched into a beautiful smile and she patted Sakura on the head just as she had when she arrived after facing Madara. "So you saved the world."

"Well, it was Naruto and Sasuke who sealed Kaguya away. I merely punched her when she tried to get away."

"Kaguya?" The woman raised an eyebrow. Sakura sighed. "It's a _long _story."

Tsunade nodded understandingly. "I expect Team 7 to be in my office ten o'clock sharp tomorrow morning for debriefing." Her eyes darted to Kakashi, who had been standing at the side with a bored look on his face. "Don't you dare be late, Kakashi."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade clapped her hands together. "Now, since I can't summon Katsuyu without any assistance, could you lend me some of your strength and chakra so that we can go on healing everyone?"

Sakura grinned, preparing her hands to make the summon seal. "Yes, Shishou."

* * *

><p><strong>It wasn't stated that Naruto lost his totally OP power, but seeing how Sasuke didn't lose his it seemed fitting to not let Naruto's ability fade. Alsoooo next chapter will have more of Sasuke since I want to focus more on him. Keep an eye out for Sakura's story (the chest pains). It's a plot device that the SS shipper in me can't resist. It would be nice if you guys would post your reviews so that I know what I can improve on this story.<strong>

**Til the next update! **


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